Star finches Neochmia ruficauda have a visual preference for white dot patterns: a possible case of trypophilia
Abstract
Many animals have polka dot patterns on their body surface, some of which are known to have signalling functions; however, their evolutionary origins remain unclear. Dot patterns can trigger a fear response (trypophobia) in humans and are known to function as aposematic signals in non-human animals, suggesting that dots may deserve attention for biological reasons. Interestingly in many birds, plumage dot patterns serve for social/sexual signalling. To understand their evolution, we have focused on the sensory bias hypothesis, which…..
Read the original article on Animal Cognition
Article Information:
Mizuno, A., Soma, M. Star finches Neochmia ruficauda have a visual preference for white dot patterns: a possible case of trypophilia. Anim Cogn (2022).
DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01609-5
